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The Music in It

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Don’t let this prompt’s title
mislead you! We’re not going to write poems in which we tell fibs. Nope! This
week we’re going to work with Fibonacci poems.

Math has never been my strong suit (I even failed geometry in high
school, and I can only count on my fingers), but some time ago, I was introduced to a
form of poetry based on the Fibonacci numbers sequence that appeals to me
despite it math-based origins.

To introduce you to the form,
I’m going to quote from a definition provided by The Fib Review’s editor,
distinguished poet Mary-Jane Grandinetti.

"The Fibonacci poem is a poetry form
based on the structure of the Fibonacci number sequence. For those unfamiliar
with the Fibonacci Sequence, it is a mathematical sequence in which every
figure is the sum of the two preceding it. Thus, you begin with 1 and the
sequence follows as such: 1+1=2; then in turn 1+2=3; then 2+3=5; then 3+5=8 and
so on. The poetry sequence therefore consists of lines of 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and
so on with each number representing the number of syllables or words that a
writer places in each line of the poem. As a literary device, it is used as a
formatted pattern in which one can offer meaning in any organized way,
providing the number sequence remains the constancy of the form.

The subject of the Fibonacci poem has no
restriction, but the difference between a good fib and a great fib is the
poetic element that speaks to the reader. No longer just a fun form to write as
a math student, the poets who write Fibonacci poems have replaced the ‘geek’
with the poet."

Note: A Fib poem doesn't have to stop as above but may continue the sequence as far as the poet wishes to take it. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 ...

An example (one that I wrote, published
in Fib Review, Issue #3)

Still there, through the
frame of a
broken window—the
torn lace curtains flutter like wings.

Bear in mind that Fibonacci
poems go beyond mere number sequencing and should incorporate poetic language,
heart, and spirit. It isn’t enough to just adhere to the syllable or word
number sequence. In other words, you don’t just drop a so-what poem into a
numbered frame. Instead, you create a real poem that appears in Fibonacci form.

At first, I found myself comparing Fib poems to haiku. Mary-Jane Grandinetti offered the following in response:

"Several Wiki sites have called
the Fib the Haiku's "cousin". People who are unfamiliar with formal
poetry don't realize how many other poetry forms require a specific syllable
count.I've been holding workshops
every Tuesday night for the past 7 years on short poetry forms and there are
hundreds of forms that count syllables. I believe it is an injustice to haiku
to continue the "myth" that haiku is all about 17 syllables of 5-7-5,
so I try to make a point of debunking the supposed relationship of the Fib to
haiku.

I don't believe that a Fib needs
to focus on a single moment of experience.In any short poetry form that would be the most important
part of the poem - capturing a specific moment, thought, idea.But having given our Fib poets the
freedom to experiment with the form, many have written substantially longer
poems with line lengths of over 55 syllables, or with multiple stanzas.

Ms. Grandinetti also offered us the following suggestions (for which many thanks):

Sentence versus Poetry—shouldn’t be a sentence divided
in 20 syllables/words.This is
especially true in word count Fibs.People just split a standard poem by words, and use enjambment just to
make the poem fit. Poetic - this is poetry isn’t it?
It should be a poem, poetic, each line doesn’t have to be a sequence of the one
before it but the natural break at the end of each line should work to the
advantage of the poem

No Cheater words—words like a, the, very, unnecessary
adjectives are not the best choice for those one syllable words, and no fair
using “very, very, very” to make up the 8 syllable line.Rethink what you want to say and use
different words that do fit.

First two lines should set the
tone—these two words should show what
the poem is about. The first 2 words are always the most difficult. And if you
use the reversed or diamond shaped form the last 2 words are equally difficult
and the most important.This is
where most poets fail - they can't find a way to end the poem.

Last line —the juxtaposition, punchline,
point of the poem - just like with any other poem.

Guidelines:

1. Fib poems may include figures of speech, so don’t
shy away from similes and metaphors.

2. Remember that you may use the
Fib number sequence through syllable count or word count. You choose whichever works best for you.

4. You might like to try a Fibonacci sequence—that is, a series of Fib poems that link to one another or,
in some way, relate to each other. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

5. Of course, you may begin with
a Fib poem and veer off into something else. Let your poem take you where it
wants to go!

Tips:

1. Keep your poem accessible and
engaging.

2. Use fresh language

3. Avoid abstractions and
clichés.

4. Avoid “preachiness.” Poetry
that instructs on some level is fine, but don’t annoy your readers with
something you feel compelled to "teach" them.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

With summer beginning tomorrow in
my corner of the world, I find myself thinking about long-ago summer days and
some of the friends with whom my childhood summers were shared. The qualities
of that sharing are understandably different from the qualities of our adult
friendships. Children don’t ask complicated questions, and most live in a more
carefree place than adults do.

This week, how about writing a
poem to or about a friend from your youth. This friend might be someone with
whom you still interact or someone with whom you’re no longer in touch but
remember fondly. Dig deeply—remember ... remember—and celebrate!

Guidelines:

1. Begin by thinking about the
summers of your youth and by selecting one friend from back in the day (not necessarily a child friend, you might
choose an adult who was an important part of your long-ago summers, someone you
respected and admired).

2. Make two lists: one that
details specific memories of your friend (appearance, age, attitudes, typical
clothing, etc.) and one that includes particular memories of times spent with
that person. Think about thunderstorms, hot days, summer nights, summer stars,
summer vacations, day trips, days at the neighborhood park.

3. Begin writing using your lists
as source materials. You may limit your memories to one, or you may include
several. Just be careful not to clutter your poem with too many details.

4. You might try writing from an
adult perspective or from the perspective of your child self. Alternatively,
you might writer a letter poem to your old friend.

Tips:

1. Remember that your memories
may be interesting to you, but in a poem you need to work on making connections
that will make your poem interesting to anyone who might read it. What are you
saying about childhood friendships and feelings that addresses something universal through your personal experience?

2. Try to write in the active,
not the passive, voice. To do that, it can be helpful to remove “ing” endings
and to write in the present tense (this will also create a greater sense of
immediacy).

3. Be on the lookout for
prepositional phrases that you might remove (articles & conjunctions too).

4. Avoid clichés and sentimentality.

5. Show, don’t tell—through striking imagery, a strong emotional center, and
an integrated whole of language, form and meaning.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Often when I conduct poetry workshops, I give participants the following list—I thought you might find these tips helpful in revising, editing, and perfecting your poems. The idea this week is to go back to an already-written poem and make it stronger.

Here Are the Tips:

1. Try to write in the active, not
the passive, voice. To do that, it can be helpful to remove “ing” endings and to
write in the present tense (this will also create a greater sense of
immediacy).

2. Be on the lookout for
prepositional phrases that you might remove (articles & conjunctions too).

3. The great author Mark Twain
once wrote, “When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly,
but kill most of them—then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when close
together. They give strength when they are wide apart.” This is especially true
in poetry. So ... as you work on a poem, think about adjectives and which ones
your poem can live without. (Often the concept is already in the noun, and you
don’t need a lot of adjectives to convey your meaning.)

5. Show, don’t tell—through striking imagery, a strong emotional center, and
an integrated whole of language, form and meaning.

6. Challenge the ordinary,
connect, reveal, surprise! And … remember that a poem should mean more than the
words it contains.

7. Create a new resonance for
your readers, a lit spark that doesn’t go out when the poem is “over.”

8. If you take a risk, make it a
big one; if your poem is edgy, take it all the way to the farthest edge.

9. Understand that overstatement
and the obvious are deadly when it comes to writing poetry. Don’t ramble on,
and don’t try to explain everything. Think about this: a poem with only five
great lines should be five lines long.

10. Bring your poem to closure
with a dazzling dismount. (Be careful not to undercut your poem’s “authority”
by ending with trivia or a “so what” line that doesn’t make your readers gasp.)

Guidelines:

1. This week, I’d like you to
take a look at one or more poems that you’ve already written, and apply the five
items above as a kind of checklist for editing.

2. Go through your poem (s) one
item at a time and see if there are changes you can make based on the "high five" list.

3. After you’ve finished,
compare your original version and the newly edited one. Is one stronger than
the other?

4. Another interesting way to go
about this is to ask a poet friend to do the exercise with you. Instead of you
editing your own poems, exchange poems and see what edits you both come up
with for each other.

Tips:

1. Be sure to work with a poem
that you finished or put aside some time ago. Don’t try to work with a new poem
or a poem in process.

2. Be as objective as you can (I know, that's not easy when working with your own poems).

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Have you ever attended a poetry reading and heard a dynamite reader? On
the flip side, have you ever heard a reader whose performance fell flat on its
face? What makes a poetry reading great?

Giving readings of our work is part of what many of us do as poets.
Being published and appearing in print or online can be very rewarding, Taking
our poems into the world in our own voices is a very different kind ofexperience and an amazing way to connect
with an audience.

Originally intended for vocal performance, poetry was first a form of
spoken literature, and it has a strong performance tradition. The way a poem
“sounds” remains important, and poetry readings bring poets into closer contact
with their audiences than the printed word allows.

Your audience is not waiting for you to mess up – they’re hoping you’ll
be spectacular, so keep that in mind when you read.

With the exception of spoken word poets, poets are not typically
performers in the manner of stage or movie actors, but reading with spirit and
communicating your enjoyment of poetry is important for a successful reading.

Tips

Before Your
Reading:

1. Prepare well before the reading. Select the poems you plan to read
and “rehearse” them at least a few times. Start by reading the poems aloud to
yourself. Follow the “guidelines” given by punctuation for pausing and
stressing; listen to each poem's musicality and try to match your voice to it.
If you have a video camera you can tape yourself during practice;
alternatively, you can record just your voice to get an idea of how you sound.
You can also stand in front of a mirror (full length is good) and “observe”
yourself as you read (“mirror-practice” may sound silly but it can be very
helpful, and the easy part is that you do it alone, no one sees but you!).

2. Time yourself while rehearsing to make sure your reading will fit the
time allotted to you. Reading over-time is a lot like over-kill. You should
always leave the audience wanting more.

3. Poets sometimes structure their readings around a theme. If you opt
to do this (and it’s not required), try to pick poems that share thematic or
emotional similarities. This can give your reading an added bit of interest.
Whatever poems you choose to read, have them ordered and ready to go so you
don’t have to stand in front of the audience and shuffle through papers,
journals, or electronic devices to find the poems you want to read.

4. Learning your poems by heart and delivering them “straight up” can
have a powerful impact on your listeners. Memorization is typically expected of
performance or spoken word poets, but it is not expected of all poets. It’s
perfectly fine to read from a book, magazine, or printed page when you do a reading.
What is important is making sure that you have some level of eye contact with
your audience. Make a point of looking up as you read, especially during pauses
in the text or at points in the poem where you want special emphasis.

5. If you have trouble seeing (or are nervous about) the print size of
magazines and journals in which your poems appear, print your poems out in a
large font so they can be easily read. Marking the pauses, breath or stress
points with a highlighter will also help you remember what you rehearsed. The
visual cues will help you stick to your reading plan when you get in front of
the audience.

During Your
Reading

6. Often poetry readings don’t offer a microphone, but when they do,
it’s important for you to know how to adjust the mic stand so that you’re not
too close or too far away. Try to adjust the mic quickly and to get into your
reading right after you’re introduced.

7. Present yourself well, use good posture (stand straight), and look as
relaxed and confident as you can (even though you may be nervous). Your
physical presence is the first thing the audience will see.

8. After you’re introduced, be sure to thank the person who introduced
you, and then greet the audience. Be gracious but genuine. Don’t overdo your “thanking”
and “greeting.”

9. You might be the most brilliant poet in the world, but if no one
understands you they won’t listen. Read slowly and loudly (the latter
particularly if there’s no microphone, see next item for volume). Allow each
word its place in the poem. The inclination to rush is understandable,
especially if you’re nervous. Relax as much as possible and consciously slow
yourself down. Sometimes the proper pace seems ridiculously slow, but it’s
really not. Concentrate on pronouncing each word as clearly and distinctly as
possible. Above all, don’t mumble or let your voice fall away, especially at
the end of a poem.

10. Volume is important. Try to project your voice to the back of the
room. Look at a person seated in the last row or the furthest away, and speak
directly to that person.

11. Work on making your voice interesting. Timbre (resonance, the
quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume) is important. Try using
a slightly fuller range than you would in normal conversation. Raise and lower
your voice appropriately. But don’t go overboard and look foolish by emoting
"all over the place." Don’t declaim. Don’t preach. Be as natural as
possible – be real.

12. Think in terms of pace and power. Try to alter the speed at which
you read the poem. If you want to sound angry or excited speed up a little and
raise the pitch of your voice. When you want to sound more serious lower the
pitch and slow down. A higher pitched voice can also be used when talking
about things that are high up (stars, the sky, angels, tall buildings, etc.)
and a lower pitch for lower things (soil, graves, underwater, etc.).

13. Lineation defines poetry (other than prose poems). Decide whether
your line breaks need pauses and how long those pauses should be. Think about
how you need to pause for punctuation. If you use enjambment, be sure not to
pause at the end of a line—read smoothly through the enjambment.

14. If you write lyrical or imagistic poems that don’t necessarily tell
a story, be sure to offer your audience a few places to rest and think. That
means reading slowly, pacing yourself, and giving the audiences small pauses in
which to think, “Yes, I understand that.”

15. Never apologize for your work or say things like, “I just wrote this
poem today,” “This is the first time I’m reading this poem,” “I’m trying this
poem out on you tonight,” “I hope you’ll like this poem,” or “This is a draft
of a poem I’m working on.” This suggests that you’re insecure about your work,
that you want the audience to go easy on you because you don’t think your poem
is up to speed, or you want to impress the audience by setting them up to think
they’re not getting your best work when you really think it is. Apologies
almost always reflect poorly on the person giving the reading.

16. Introductions for individual poems can be helpful, but be aware that
you shouldn’t have to explain your poems – the poems should do that without any
coaching from you. If you’d like to say a few words before each poem to invite
the audience to share in it with you – that can be a good thing. Sharing a bit
about a poem can “warm up” your relationship with the audience. Just be sure
that you don’t talk too much. The audience is there to hear you read your
poems, not to hear you explain them. I think we’ve all heard poets whose intros
are longer than their poems. Practice introductions ahead of time, and you may
even write them on the pages from which you read. Practice your introductions
when you practice reading your poems. Listen to yourself until you feel
comfortable and your words sound natural.

Suggestions for Poem Intros

A. You can introduce a poem very briefly by saying something like

(1) “This is a poem about _____.”

(2) “I wrote this poem when _____.”

B. To help your audience feel at ease and to bring them into your
“environment,”

you can ask a simple question to introduce a poem.

(1) “How many of you have been to ____?”

(2) “Have you ever experienced _____?”

17. Try to stand still unless you have a contextual reason for moving.
Typically, moving around at the podium is a symptom of nervousness, and
everyone in the audience will be aware of it. It’s a good idea to consciously
plant your feet and straighten your spine. Don’t fidget while reading! Sometimes,
punctuating certain lines with movement of your hands is effective, but be
careful not to over-do that sort of thing.

18. “Sorry,” or “Oops.” Most of the time the audience won’t even notice
a word-trip unless you call attention to it. If you lose your place while
reading (and that does happen), don’t panic. Just pause, find your place, and
get on with reading. If you memorize your poems and miss a line, just keep
going – the audience won’t know that you’ve left something out.

19. You’ve performed a poem well if the audience knows when it’s time to
applaud. Some audiences applaud after each poem, but some don’t. Either way,
when you finish a poem you can signal that it’s over with a pause and a smile
(or a small step back from the mic, podium, or stand) before moving on to the
next piece. If the audience does applaud,
be sure to say, “Thank you.”

After Your Reading

20. At the end of the reading, after the audience applauds, make a point
of a final, gracious “thank you” and return to your seat.

WELCOME!

THE MUSIC IN IT

"The Music In It" is a blog for anyone interested in poets and poetry—the craft and the community.

The title comes from Countee Cullen, who wrote: "My poetry, I should think, has become the way of my giving out whatever music is in me."

Look for a new prompt or guest blogger every week or every other week, usually posted on Saturdays, and check the archives for older prompts and posts. Be sure to click on the poetry-related links in the sidebar.

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ABOUT NOT ASKING WHAT IF

"Kenny has written some of the most hauntingly beautiful spiritual haiku I’ve ever read—haiku that take us as close to divinity as human language can get. Her haiku are spare and commanding, rich in imagery, and layered with meaning." (Alex Pinto, Tiferet)

“Traditional haiku, environmental haiku, psychological haiku, spiritual haiku—Adele Kenny has done them all. Her haiku are spare and powerful, always nuanced with rich symbolism. Her images and juxtapositions make readers hold their breath in wonder.” (Malachy McCourt, Author of A Monk Swimming)

A LIGHTNESS, A THIRST, OR NOTHING AT ALL — BOOK TRAILER

WHAT MATTERS

ABOUT WHAT MATTERS

"In Adele Kenny's finely wrought meditations on grief and loss, she never forgets that she's a maker of poems. What Matters straddles two of the exigencies of the human condition: diminishment and endurance. It abounds with poems that skillfully earn their sentiments." (Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prize in Poetry)

"These are poems that come to (poetic) grips with the issues of grief, fear, and death ... focused in a new and strong way." (Gerald Stern, National Book Award in Poetry)

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I’m the author of 24 books (poetry & nonfiction) with poems published in journals worldwide, as well as in books and anthologies from Crown, Tuttle, Shambhala, and McGraw-Hill.
I’ve worked as a guest poet for numerous agencies, have twice been a featured reader in the Dodge Poetry Festival, and my awards include two poetry fellowships from the NJ State Arts Council, the 2012 International Book Award for Poetry, and the Distinguished Alumni Award (Kean University). My book, A LIGHTNESS, A THIRST, OR NOTHING AT ALL, is a 2016 Paterson Prize finalist. In March of 2012, I was appointed Poet Laureate of Fanwood, NJ by the Borough Mayor and Council.
A former professor of creative writing in the College of New Rochelle’s Graduate School, I’m founding director of the Carriage House Poetry Series and poetry editor for Tiferet Journal. I give readings and conduct both agency-sponsored and private poetry workshops.

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REALLY FUNNY (Bulldog Reading Dylan Thomas)

HOW TO READ POETRY – Funny!

ATTENTION HAIKU POETS

If your area of interest is haiku and its related forms, click the image above for a list of journals (published in various countries) that might interest you.

ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE

Ever find yourself in the middle of a poem and unable to find that one perfect word? Here's the link for a site that provides synonyms, antonyms, related words, similar sounding words, and much more. Easy to use!